The present invention relates to an electrical connector. More specifically, the present invention relates to a circuit board electrical connector to be mounted on a circuit board.
Patent Reference has disclosed a conventional electrical connector or a conventional circuit board electrical connector. The conventional circuit board electrical connector is disposed on a circuit board for receiving a flat conductive member (flexible substrate) from above, so that the circuit board is connected to the flat conductive member. The electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference includes a housing which has an upper opening portion and a lower opening portion formed therein, a plurality of terminals (contacts) that is arranged and held in the housing, and a pressing member that is rotatably held by the housing and the terminals.
Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication No. 08-195256
In the conventional electrical connector described in Patent Reference, the housing includes a receiving groove to receive the flat conductive member through the upper opening portion and a housing groove (a holding groove) to house the terminals through the lower opening portion. The receiving groove and the housing groove are formed in the housing and communicate to each other.
In the conventional electrical connector described in Patent Reference, the terminals are made by punching a sheet metal while a flat plate surface is maintained. Each of the terminals includes an arm portion, and the arm portion extends upward while curving and has a contact section formed at an upper end portion thereof. Each of the terminals further includes a connecting section that extends laterally from a lower end of a basal part of the arm portion.
In the conventional electrical connector described in Patent Reference, when the terminal is held in the housing groove, the arm portion of the terminal extends vertically in the receiving groove of the housing, and the contact section of the arm portion is situated near the upper opening portion so as to contact with the flat conductive member inserted in the receiving groove. Furthermore, the connecting section extends outside the housing so as to connect to a corresponding circuit unit of the circuit board with solder.
In the conventional electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, the housing groove of the housing to house the terminals is often formed in a slit shape having substantially the same width as a plate thickness of the terminals. There is no specific description about a dimension of the housing groove in Patent Reference. Accordingly, it may be considered that the housing groove may be formed as the slit having substantially the same widths as the plate thicknesses of the terminals, and there is hardly any gap between the terminals in the plate thickness direction.
When the housing groove is formed as the slit, and the terminal is housed in the housing groove, the lower opening portion of the housing is fully occupied with the terminals. Therefore, when a dust, i.e., a foreign matter, falls in the housing through the upper opening portion, the dust may be accumulated in the receiving groove and the housing groove and stick to the terminals. When the dust sticks to the terminals, there may be a problem such as short circuit between adjacent terminals. In addition, there is also a concern of poor connection between the terminals and the flat conductive member due to the dust attached to contact sections of the terminals.
Moreover, when the connecting sections are connected to the corresponding circuit unit on the circuit board with solder, solder and flux may crawl up through a capillary phenomenon between the housing groove and the plate surfaces of the terminals. As a result, there is a concern of poor connection between the terminals and the flat conductive member due to solder and flux reaching up to the contact sections of the terminals.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a circuit board electrical connector, which can prevent a dust from being accumulated in the electrical connector. Accordingly, the electrical connector does not have a problem such as short circuit between terminals and poor contact between the terminals and a flat conductive member. Further, it is possible to preventing solder and the flux from crawling up to connecting sections of the terminal, thereby preventing poor contact between the terminals and the flat conductive member.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.